Aug 31, 2011

It is sunny, clear, and of course since it is clear and sunny it is windy today.  We decided this would be a good day to head out to Samoa.  It was a pleasant, short drive.  We first stopped at the Cookhouse, which we thought was a tourist place with little shops and such but it was really just a family style restaurant with a little room on to the side with some antiques.  The Humboldt Maritime Museum was in a small building right next door, but it was closed.  From there we headed out to the end of the island or peninsula, not sure which it is.  Anyway the area is a popular ATV area but we had it to ourselves today.  There are bunkers all over from WWII, unfortunately they are all locked and you can’t go inside.  One thing I learned today was that a Japanese submarine torpedoed a Petroleum Tanker off the Mendocino Coast during WWII killing several crew member while the rest abandoned ship. There are unconfirmed stories of subs spotted off the coast being bombed by our seaplanes or blimps equipped with bombs and Japanese paraphernalia being washed ashore afterwards.  Interesting stories, which may be true since the confirmation of the sub attack off Mendocino! We drove further from this point and came to the edge of the South jetty. Walking up the dunes we could see the North jetty and South jetty at the same time.  No wonder it is considered the most dangerous port on the CA coast, the water is fierce for sure.

We drove east from there and into Arcata and back into Eureka along 101 again.  We stopped at Fort Humboldt Historic Park.  Again, the visitor center was closed but we had a nice walk around the area.  There was also an historic logging exhibit.  There was a sign that said they will have a self-guided interpretative tour completed in 2012.  No sign of that happening yet, but there were a few signs around to explain what we were looking at.  I was surprised to see that Ulysses S Grant was stationed at Fort Humboldt.  The purpose of the fort was to ease relations between the Native Indians and the settlers coming to the area.  I guess we all know how that turned out.  This was also a gathering place where the Indians were then sent to the reservations.  A sad time for history in the Americas.

Tomorrow I think we will go to Crescent City.   

Eureka Aug. 30

Fog is the word for today.  The sun did try to peak through around 1pm but it didn’t make it.  We did laundry and some cooking…Well, “we” as in “me we” – LOL.  After that we headed to south to Ferndale, where we did see the sun!  We drove through Ferndale and saw several old Victorian dwellings.  The main street in Ferndale has been designated a National Register Historic District to get there we drove over the Eel River on the Fernbridge, built in 1911.  The bridge is a Civil Engineering Historic Landmark as well.  After driving through the town we headed to Ferndale Beach where we spent most of the afternoon walking along the beach.  It is a very long beach that allows ATVs and horses along with people of course.  We found many lovely little rocks, I am not sure if any of them are agates or not, but I don’t think so.  This is a rough and dangerous beach, of course no one swims here and this was a calm day.  We drove back through Ferndale and took a short drive through the cemetery.  It was one of the most unique old cemeteries we’ve seen.  After we left Ferndale we drove on the back roads to Loleta and made a quick stop at the Cheese Factory.  We were under the impression that there was a restaurant there and we were going to have a snack, but they only make and sell cheese.  The samples were delicious!  We knew there was a Casino nearby so we thought we might go there for a snack.  We stopped but it just didn’t look inviting so we made a few necessary stops and then headed home.  Lots of traffic in downtown Eureka today.  There must be some logging going on as we saw several logging trucks today. 

Eureka Aug 29, 2011

Lovely day today because when we got up the fog was only high and seemed to go back out to sea as the morning progressed. We planned to head North today and we did just that. We were going to go have lunch at the casino in Trinidad because Ann said they had great food and it was overlooking the ocean.  However, when we got there the restaurant was closed.  Maybe they only serve dinner, or maybe they just aren’t open on Monday, we don’t know.  From there we were told there were good fish and chips down by the beach.  We headed down to the beach but never really got to a beach.  We saw some lovely views though and the detour was worth it.  We headed back into Trinidad determined to find lunch and we did.  Oh my, what a wonderful lunch we had!  John had the fish and chips but I had the best mussels I believe I have ever eaten.  YUM!  The broth they were in was highly flavored with garlic and they added a sprinkling of bleu cheese over the top, which I would never have thought of doing.  Besides the wonderful food and service we just has a great time.  From there we knew we had to walk off the lunch so we strolled over to the Memorial Lighthouse and down the 227 steps and additional path to the beach below.  We watched harbor seals and birds and looked for elusive shells but came up empty handed.  Back up the 237 steps (yes, we counted) and northward to Patrick’s Point State Park.  The Redwoods are lovely and my photos do not do them justice.  One portion of the park has a Sumeg Indian village and we walked through that.  It was very interesting.  It is a replication of course, but the Yurok Indians still use this to have cultural events and keep their traditions alive.

Agate Beach:

 

Back to Eureka and time to relax.  Hopefully with the hundreds of channels on TV we will find something we want to watch! 

Here is an interesting tidbit.  It is legal to grow and smoke pot in Arcata. Prop 215, the compassionate use act of 1996.  I suppose it was based on medical marijuana use, but it is far beyond that according to his article.  I really don’t see how that is possible but John read it to me from the Journal.  They passed a law and it is allowed.  So I wonder how many young adults go to Humboldt State just for this reason?  Seems crazy to me that they can pass a law like this that supersedes the laws of the state.  With all the talk of making this legal, if you read this article they are having massive problems due to the passing of this law.  Some of the problems are “Plagues of electrical fires, mold damage, and violent crime.” BUT one of the counsel members states their economy is not as bad as it could be because of the law and another calls it tolerance “run amuck” – so that’s the scoop on that.  Moral to this story, don’t send your kids to Humboldt State.  LOL   

Eureka Aug 28th

We heard Ann leave this morning, not sure what time it was as I kept sleeping!  I love this weather and sleeping long hours like we did in Alaska.  When I did crawl out of be and check my email I was shocked to find out Sam was in the hospital!  So concerned…I called Deb but her phone was off of course.  I texted her and I did eventually get a text back.  They think it is his gallbladder.  I hated to leave the house but we had to get some food we wanted and I figured the cell phone would work in downtown Eureka.  She did call to let me know they came home and he will need to see a surgeon about having the gallbladder removed.  He is okay for now, what a relief!  We ate dinner (at lunch time)) at Applebee’s and then shopped at Costco and headed back.  After putting things away and checking email and such again, we watched a movie and then headed out to Safeway for some smaller items we wanted. A quiet day but we didn’t want to venture too far until we knew about Sam and if he was okay.  Tomorrow we will head north and see what we see. 

Eureka

Aug. 26, We had a nice trip up but I was a little disappointed the highway was not as I recalled it.  It used to wind through the redwoods and it was so lovely.  Now 101 totally bypasses all of that except in a couple brief places.  We’ll have to research how to take that redwood drive on the way home, if not before. 

We drove past our cut off for Ann’s house and went directly into Eureka with the thought of getting something to eat, but we weren’t hungry.  Instead we stopped at the visitor’s center, but that was closed.  We drove around and looked at several things in old town and picked up a few items with information about the area.  Then on to Ann’s, which was quite easy to find.  She is on Humboldt Hill, her home is lovely, and above the Tsunami area as well.  However, she does have the NOAA alert in her home for Tsunami warnings and such.  The side of her home facing the ocean is mostly glass with a deck as well.  We have a spacious bedroom and bath to call ours for the next couple of weeks.  She has unlimited wireless Internet and all sorts of channels on the DISH TV network.  John’s figured that out by now I am sure.  Our clothing is put away and hung up and it is off to bed.  Polar sheets, never had those…comfy!!!!

Aug 27, Today Ann drove us around and showed us some places we will probably want to go later; a zoo, a lovely park in Eureka, restaurants with good food, what stores to shop in, and the great fact that they have a Costco here!  A lot of stores are closing as the economy is very bad here now that fishing has all but died out and there is no further lumber mills in operation.  Eureka will only allow a chain store to come into an already established building, so Costco is in the old Montgomery Wards building.  There is a Kohl’s where Mervyns used to be.  No WalMart, and Borders is going out of business, as have other stores.  Such is our economy I guess.  There are quite a few old hippies up here, and talk about liberal… well, we won’t go there, were just visiting.  LOL  Ann is leaving in the morning and we probably won’t see her again, at least not on this trip. 

July 30, 2011

A long but successful day, we are home.  We did most all of our packing and laundry yesterday so it was just putting in the last minute things this morning, plus a trip to the library this morning. After that we came back and emptied the fridge out the rest of the way, ate our lunch, and called a taxi and we were on the way to the airport.  There was a break in the almost nonstop rain so we had a lovely little trip across the passage and to the airport.  We soaked in the last of the cool weather.  Anyway, we barely got through security and they were beginning to board a little early so no real wait for us.  We traveled in a very colorful Disney painted airplane with Tinkerbell painted on it! Our trip to Seattle was uneventful.  We had great views of both Mt. Rainer and Mt. Adams.  When we arrived to Seattle we at dinner at Wolfgang Pucks and it was really tasty.  I had roasted chicken and Caesar salad.  Our flight for Fresno boarded on time but we sat for a while since the lavatory did not work and we needed it fixed before takeoff.  Anyway it didn’t take long and we were on our way.  Lovely skies on the way home and our luggage arrived with us.  Thankful to Cheryl and Taylor for picking us up at the airport and depositing us at Home Sweet Home.    

I guess this is probably “smog” but it does look pretty as the sun goes down.

July 29, 2011

Our last full day in Ketchikan and the rain seems to want to show us it’s in charge!  It is raining particularly hard today.  We packed up all our unused food and took it across the street to the Salvation Army, saving out just what we plan to eat tonight and in the morning.  They seemed very grateful.  I have a few items of clothing to drop at their Thrift Shop tomorrow on the way to our last visit at the local library.  Here is an interesting hat worn by local visiting the library.  I can sort of understand the sentiments as so many of the visitors are rude, hog the sidewalks, push others out of their way, etc.  However, the tourists partly keep this community alive as well and offer many summer jobs.  After today’s library visit we watched movies and did our laundry.  I don’t think I have ever come home with a suitcase full of clean clothing before!  We also went through a variety of brochures we have picked up along the way, deciding what to scan  for digital scrapbooking. We hope our checked suitcase won’t be too heavy and we won’t have to adjust too many things after we get to the airport tomorrow.

Off to bed.  We will miss the sound of rain on our roof each night and sleeping in a chilly room with the window open, snuggled under the covers, ahhh – great sleeping weather!!!  :-) I don’t want to think about it being 103 tomorrow in Clovis, but we do miss our family and friends!